Electrically and radiation induced leakage currents in thin oxides

Abstract

Stress Induced Leakage Current (SILC) has been recognized as a topic of concern in flash memory reliability. It is a veritable failure mechanism, occurring long before oxide breakdown and, hence, limiting oxide lifetime. The physical origin and mechanisms of SILC have not yet been clearly understood and several open points to discussion remain. In this work the electrical characteristics of SILC have been studied and an empirical reliability model for ultra-thin gate oxide has been proposed. Moreover, ionizing radiation effects in leakage current generation have been analyzed and compared to electrical SILC.